


Our eyes were closed with hearts open wide

by c19



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, Post-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22271716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c19/pseuds/c19
Summary: A look into Anne and Gilbert's relationship after the kiss in front of the boarding house.Or a series of post season 3 drabbles.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 4
Kudos: 87





	1. sometimes this has a hot, sweet taste

The 24th of December had arrived in Avonlea, snow engulfing the town in glorious stillness. Anne struggled to walk fast enough, her feet kept getting stuck in the snow that nearly reached her ankles. She regretted sneaking off a bit, after all if she had told Marilla she would've insisted Anne take the horse. Then she wouldn't be shivering and the bottom of her dress wouldn't be soaked. Nevertheless she walked on. It was her job to save the Christmas Eve dinner after all. As was tradition the Cuthbert's would spend the evening with the Blythe-Lacroix family, the only difference this year was they wouldn't be dining at Green Gables, and a certain Gilbert Blythe had insisted he wanted to prepare the dinner. 

Bash and Hazel tried to dissuade the boy, each for different reasons, but he would not relent. Anne tried to as well after hearing many a horror story involving oatmeal from Bash.

"Ye of little faith, Anne-girl." Was all that Gilbert replied after Anne pleaded her case. She had even tried to enlist Marilla to her cause, but she thought it was a splendid idea. 

"At least it won't be spicy." Marilla had said. "It'll be a sensible meal, even if it isn't all that good." Anne just rolled her eyes and groaned.

This was her first Christmas with Gilbert as her beau and she wanted it to be perfect. Everything else had been perfect thus far. Their beautiful walks under gorgeous snowfall, sitting in front of the fire after dinner talking softly, and stealing a kiss or too in Gilbert's barn under some mistletoe that mysteriously appeared tied to a beam (Anne insisted she hadn't placed it but Elijah saw her sneak into the barn and told Gilbert, he still pretended he didn't know it was her). They'd even gone ice skating! It couldn't be any more romantical if she tried. 

And so she trotted on, hoping to sneak into the kitchen, work some magic on the food, and leave. All before Marilla could notice her absence. Anne couldn't've been more surprised when she opened the door and was greeted by the most heavenly scent. The kitchen was empty but busier than ever. The last time she had seen that kitchen in such a state was when they were all cooking for Mary's last easter. The memory hurt a little bit less now, but it still saddened her to think of the woman she looked up to.

She would've marveled at the sight in front of Anne's eyes. The stove was littered with pans, potatoes were boiling, dumplings were steaming, and vegetables were stewing. A quick peek into the oven confirmed what her nose was already telling her... a turkey! This had to be Mrs. Lacroix's doing, before college Gilbert couldn't cook to save his life and she doubted very much that he had time to cook in Toronto.

The aforementioned boy stepped into the kitchen, a basket of eggs in hand. She took in his dirty apron. Okay so maybe he did help, doesn't mean he did all of this.

"Anne! What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here until nightfall." He didn't even stop to give her a hug and a kiss as he always did, he went straight to the stove and plopped all of the eggs in a pot of boiling water. What planet is this?

"I-I know, I came to he- Did you make all this?!" She flayed her arms gesturing to the entire kitchen.

"I did." Gilbert said, stepping away from the stove. A proud smile adorned his face, Anne would kiss him if she wasn't so confused. 

"I came here on a very important mission, Gilbert Blythe! I came to save Christmas and our taste buds from your awful cooking and I find you cooking a feast that smells amazing. Something's just not adding up!" She paced around the kitchen as she recited her short speech, and she found herself out of breath by the end of it. Gilbert leaned against the dining table, nodding his head at her rant, his proud smile replaced by an amused one. 

"Well at the moment Delphine isn't giving much use to the cookbook you made her so I thought I would. I took it with me to Toronto and I whip up a recipe every now and then. Certainly surprised the fellas at the boarding house." 

"Certainly surprised me! Why didn't you tell me in any of your letters? I would've given you a tip or two." Anne melted at the image in her mind. Her Gilbert so far away in Toronto, tired and hungry after a long day of studying, baking Mary's potatoes from the little recipe book Anne had made. "Well I still have to taste it, cooking isn't easy at all you know. Even when you think everything is going perfectly, remember my liliment fiasco? So I should stay and make su-"

"Give me a chance." He interrupted her. "I wanted to surprise you tonight, and you already ruined half the surprise by seeing this. I at least want you to be surprised when you taste it." She couldn't very well argue with him when his arms were around her waist and his hair was messy in that way she liked and he looked at her in that way that made her knees feel weak.

"Alright then, I'll see you tonight."

And she did. And when she walked into the parlor wearing that blue dress he hadn't seen her in since that fateful day, her hair streaming down her back because she knew he liked it like that, she knew she wasn't the only one surprised that day. It took all the self control she had not to run into his arms and kiss him in front of everyone when he looked at her like that. Like he couldn't believe she was real. 

Her perfect December streak was not ruined that 24th. The food was delicious and every bite reminded her of Mary. And after dinner, while the adults sat in the parlor having tea, she stood next to Gilbert in front of the sink, drying the dishes after he washed, and she caught a glimpse of a life she once thought impossible but now seemed close enough to touch. She would be patient though, after all, life could wait its turn. At least until she wasn't so full.


	2. I've seen the paths that your eyes wander down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne welcomes the new year in her favorite way.

Anne had never experienced New Year's Eve in the city and now that she was experiencing it, she found it quite a shock. New Year's Eve in Avonlea was always a quiet affair, people stayed in their houses and had dinner and sat by the clocks and were promptly asleep by 12:30. That was not the case in Charlottetown. The streets were filled with people, laughing and drinking. The pubs hired musicians for the night and the sound spilled out whenever the doors opened, some couples took that opportunity to dance in the street. Anne resisted the urge to join a group of girls dancing offbeat and laughing uncontrollably. Although it looked awful fun, Anne couldn't be late. 

Aunt Jo had invited her to spend New Year's with together, as she was throwing a small get gathering. Or so she said. When Anne arrived to the house she saw there was nothing small about the get together, it was smaller than her summer soiree yes, but there were at least 15 people there, and more seemed to be arriving. 

The waiter offered her a glass of champagne and she decided to take it. After all she was a woman now, she wore a corset and everything. 

"What do we have here?" Aunt Jo said to her as a greeting, motioning to the glass in her hand.

"Good evening, Aunt Jo. The party looks great and the champagne is quite exquisite." Anne stood a little taller, trying to make herself look more grown up. 

Aunt Josephine laughed. "Just be careful with that." Anne nodded. 

She rather liked the drink, and after downing another glass she decided to join the party. The atmosphere in the house was much like the atmosphere outside. People seemed giddy. Talking too loudly, laughing too boisterously, and dancing too much. The musicians hadn't taken a single break since Anne arrived. She loved it. She only wished she had someone to dance with. Gilbert had said he would try to come but he had to leave for Toronto first thing in the morning and it was already half past 11. It seemed she would have to greet the new century without him.

Anne moved to the middle of the ballroom, swaying and twirling to the music by herself. After a while of dancing she started to feel quite a hot, so she went to the balcony to get some air. Stopping to get a third glass on the way. 

Outside the cold breeze greeted her but she wasn’t cold enough to go back inside. In a few minutes they would be welcoming a new century. The prospect thrilled her. A decade full of endless possibilities. She thought of everything the 19th century had given her, both good and bad. But these days she didn’t dwell much on the bad days for she was now so overwhelmed with good days, and good moments, and good people, that she found she didn’t really have the time. 

She could hear excited shouting coming from inside, and a quick peek at everyone gathered around the clock let her know the new year was seconds away, but still she stayed outside. The champagne had rather gotten to her head and the calming breeze made her feel steadier. She wanted the new year to find her in her natural habitat, outside, thinking.

“You’re missing the countdown.” A voice interrupted her thoughts. A voice that she could recognize anywhere, even after nearly four months without hearing it.

“Gil!” She didn’t run to him the way she had when she finally saw him in Avonlea at the beginning of her winter break, but she wasn’t any less excited to see him.

“You’re missing the countdown, only 20 more seconds to go.” He moved towards her, removing his jacket and setting it upon her shoulders. 

Anne took him in, his curly hair and his hazel eyes. “I’d rather be here with you.” Cheering erupted from inside and they both knew what that meant. “Welcome to the year 1900.” She said. “I hope it’ll be a glorious one.”

“It will be.” Gilbert replied, pressing her close and setting his lips on hers. The kiss deepened and when they finally pulled apart they were both breathless. “I’m so in love with you.” He breathed out. 

Anne had no other response but to kiss him again, all thoughts of champagne or cold breeze or nostalgia leaving her mind. All she could focus on was him and the intoxicating feeling of his lips on hers.

The party inside raged on, the music livelier now. Anne pulled away from him and twirled around the balcony, like she had done earlier in the ballroom. “Dance with me!” She said.

The mood from the other partygoers was contagious and she wanted to jump and cheer as they did. Gilbert only watched her with an expression she couldn’t quite explain. Was it the expression of love?

“I’m afraid I only know the Dashing White Sergeant.” Gilbert said.

Anne grabbed his hands and twirled him they we he had twirled her that day at the school, he laughed. “It doesn’t matter, we’ll make do.” Anne said.

And so they moved, neither of them sure of what they were doing. Moving across the balcony to the beat of the faint music that seeped through the door. Their hands connected and their hearts beating in time.

Anne laughed and laughed and she wasn’t sure if it was the doing of the three glasses of champagne she had or just a heightened version of the way she felt whenever she was with Gilbert, but she never wanted to feel any other way. “Isn’t this amazing?” She wondered out loud, she was breathless from the dancing and the laughing. 

The music changed to a slower pace and Gilbert closed the small space between them. They were no longer gliding across the floor, they were simply swaying were they stood. Her head on his chest, their arms wrapped around each other. “It is.” He whispered in her ear. It was.

**Author's Note:**

> i really wanted to write but i didn't have an idea fit for a full length fic or a decent one shot so i decided to compile all my little drabbles here. i still feel this urge to write but have yet to come up with anything longer than 1k, so if you have any drabble suggestions i'll be happy to do my best. follow me on tumblr (herkindredspirits), its where i vent all my writing frustrations. i also sometimes post stuff on there that i dont post here. like chap 1 for example. i posted on tumblr a while ago and it flopped so i wasn't sure whether to post or not, so i hope you guys like it.


End file.
